The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-07-02
SELLING A PICTURE.
HOW THE COMMERCIAL ARTIST
MANAGES TO MAKE MONEY.
Ho Sells Paintings with Comparative
Ease, While the Man Of Talent Gets
Left-Tooting a worthless Pieturc-An
Anxious Artist.

Anxious Artist.
1t is proposition commar ding assent rs
soon us il is stated that the host and most
ski lful artists do not sell the greatest number
of pictures or receive the largest sums Of
money for their work, Generally speaking,
it is the artist who is the best salesman who
gets rid Of the most wares 1t is the conf
mcrrial drummer who can paint who puts
the greatest amount Of coorel canvas on the
market. OF course there are certain facts
which so to qualify this statement, but, tax
ing the whole question Of selling pictures in
their entirety and ignoring details for a mo-
mcnt, this statement may DO allowed to
stand as substantially true.
The advantage which a maker Of bad
paintings who POSSESSES what is called bust
ness push and energy has over an artist Who
lacks these qualifications, and an artist Csu
ally does laca them, is the widespread ignur-
ancs of art among the public and the utter
innocenee among Il great mai picture buyers
OF what constitutes n good picture. There
arc people buying pictures to-day, and who
have started in to make u collection, who are
in very much tho situation Of those nbund-
antly financed young ladies who 80 into some
of the dry goods stUres uptown and, approach
ing one of the counters, engages in the follow
in.g conversation:
How much is that. jaclieti 1t ia very
pretty, isn't itN
"Yos,' replies the afable salesvoman, at
is pretty. That jacket is sll.257
Only Sll25! 1t can't be very nice
And the strawberry and cream complex
Toned customer is about to turn away, an cX-
preston Of contempt for such plchcinu prices
fitting across her pretty face.
OH says the quick sale'woman, these
lave been reduced. But we have some more
expensive ONES"
And after going through familiar pro-
ccss, the guilcless young thing pays so cr SO
for garment very little, if any, better than
the fist one which was shown her.
And it is the same way with thee artists
and tic people who como to them to buy pic
lures If the prtist has that kind of business
sense and morality which manufactures good
opinion for his pictures by placing an alb
suidly high price on them he manages to sell
OF "A goodly number Of them. The purchasers
esteem them ut the valur which the artists
who have painted them put on them, aud buy
them because they are high priced. The price
asked is about the only standard whereby
they can measure them. And then the
following dialogue occurs between the scion
OF the purchaser and the scion Of a rival
picture buyer and collector;
Master Brown aged G-My pa Ina. got Il
magnificent picture in our gallery. It was
painted by Rosa Bonhcur and cost $1,000
Miss Smith, aged j-My pm has got better
picture than that 1t cost $1,000, and was
painted by my uncle George Washington
Smith
That squelches the Olive branch Of tho
Browns, and his opilon of Rosa Borhcur is
ruined forever AT all events the artist of
the Horse Fair compares with g. W. Smith
as $4,000 compares with S9,Ouo
TRYING TO SELL \ PICTURE.
Keeping nmind the ignorance OF the every
day picture buyer, it is Obvious that the
young artist who has real talent and who has
the modest opinion of his own work with
which real talent is usually in company, has a
great deal Of difficulty in getting started. lie
cannot go up to n canvas Of his and say:
"Now that is great picturc--a really great
picture. l ask 5000 for that When | am
dead and cannot paint any more like il that
painting will bring $1,000 at auction
lie cannot toot artistic work in any such
haretaced way, and yet it is this kind of toot-
Ing which sells pictures TO man who knows
isn't worth a row of pins. lie accepts the
othor mans Judgment, the Judgment Of the
artist the salesman-m point Of fact Of the
commercial drummer who is trying tn sell "A
bill ut his own goods The drummci's bold
assertion touches his Imagination. appeals to
hiscupidity, and hr buys the picture for $500.
which may hc worth q tenth ul that amount.
while at that very moment there arc pictures
hanging i'm studios around town which are
really works Of art, and which would not H.
unworthy companions of the Mlillcts, the
Cor"t', the Salvador Ressis. the Daubienvs
mud tho Gcromcs which hayo been purchased
On the advice of disinteIcstcd picture dealers.
The porsistency Of these commercial artists
has furnished the basis Of good'manv nucc-
dotcs which are Iciailcl at art reception and
Bohemian sup ers. y fnyoritc story is of one
fellow who had been in hard lucl, for some
time, who captured would he picture buycl.
in his attic studio, but lad unfortunately
nothing in hand which struck the fancy of lie
customer After vainly cxpatiatng on his
wares and failing to make sale, he begged to
make suggestions for pictures in the hone of
securing commission and n payment on nc
count But the collector was not IMPRESSED
and moved toward the door, followed by the
eager and impecunious artist. As the artist
followed him down the stairs he stopped tho
patron, now anxious to be off, with appeals
TO inspect suggestions for pictures which he
hastily outlined on the wall with n piece of
charcoal which he had carried with him from
the rooms. In this way he followed the man
down -four flights of stairs and the passage
was decorated with sketches throughout its
entire length, so that it looked like the pre-
liminaiy drawings for a panorama. The
picture buyer was obIuratc however, and
the artist went back to his room, rubbing out
his sketches with his cont sleeve as lie as
cended,-Now York Mail and Expires.